NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team opened the 2023 season with a 16-7 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Wednesday afternoon at Nordin Field.

Junior attack Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford, Conn.) paced the hosts with a game-high five goals as well as two ground balls and seven draw controls. Sophomore attack Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) checked in with four goals and an assist to go along with two ground balls and two draw controls for the Lyons, while senior attack Brooke Harvey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) notched two goals, a game-best three assists and four draws.

Sophomore midfielder Erin McIntyre (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State with two goals and a career-high nine draw controls. Sophomore attack Camryn Gonsalves (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also potted a pair of goals for the Bears, while junior attack Savannah Herrington (Kinnelon, N.J.) tallied a goal and an assist.

Wheaton scored the first four goals of the first quarter and the last four goals of the second period as the Lyons took a 9-4 lead into the break. LeBeau scored four of her five goals in the first half, while Harvey tallied a goal and three assists over the first 30 minutes.

Gonsalves opened the second half scoring to cut the deficit to 9-5. The Bears, however, were kept off the board over the final 13 minutes of the third quarter. Back-to-back tallies by Finnie, including a player-advantage marker, staked the Lyons to an 11-5 lead heading into final period.

The two teams exchanged scoring strikes over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Senior midfielder Katie O'Brien (Pembroke, Mass.) found the back of the net for the Bears, while LeBeau converted for the Lyons. Wheaton maintained the six-goal cushion (12-6) over the next six minutes. The Lyons then reeled off three goals in a span of 100 seconds to put the game well out of reach. Sophomore attack Sophie Gromala (Killingworth Conn.), freshman attack Jessica Chamberlain (Bow, N.H.) and junior attack Abigail Mountain (Niantic, Conn.) each scored during the three-goal outburst.

Bridgewater finished with a 32-26 shot advantage as well as a slight 14-13 edge in draw controls. The Bears, however, went just 1-for-8 on free position attempts, while the Lyons converted 4 of 5.

Senior goalkeeper Emily Oundjian (Longmeadow, Mass.) made 13 saves to pick up the win between the pipes for Wheaton. BSU senior netminder Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) played all but 76 seconds of the contest and turned aside five shots.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon. The Lyons (1-0) entertain Salve Regina University at noon, while the Bears (0-1) host the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at one o'clock.

Notes: The Lyons are 35-7-1 versus the Bears since the teams first met back in 1978.